By Lisa Carson | Director of Individual Giving
Dear Donors,
Greetings from sunny New Hampshire!
As GlobeMed at Dartmouth ends its fourth year of partnership with the Kachin Women’s Organization Thailand (KWAT), we would like to take a moment to share with you some personal stories about a few of the people we have helped.
One of our projects with KWAT is upkeep of a clinic in Mai Ja Yang, on the China-Burma border. This small medical center cares for a large population of people displaced from their homes by the ethnic conflict between the Burmese Army and Kachin rebels.
In this area, medical care is difficult to come by. Something that would be easily treated elsewhere can be a death sentence, particularly for young children and infants. For example, one woman brought a three-month-old baby to the clinic because he was having trouble breathing. He was suffering from late stage pneumonia, which nearly proved fatal. The clinic, however, was able to provide him with oxygen and antibiotics, and he lived.
Our major project this year was the creation of a fund for mothers who need to be referred to a Chinese hospital for C-sections, as the clinic does not have the capacity to carry out surgeries. Whether a pre-planned situation or an emergency, transportation costs and medical bills are very expensive, and KWAT often has to deal with them as many displaced people have virtually no money. Often, pregnant women come to the clinic for prenatal care and test positive for HIV. To prevent their babies from contracting the virus, the infants must be delivered via C-section. Many other complications that arise during pregnancy can also require referral to a larger hospital.
KWAT’s programs would not be nearly as successful without continual donations from people like you. As we end this school year, we want to show our appreciation one last time. Thank you for being a part of this effort to provide equitable health care to people being persecuted by their own government and largely ignored by the international media. We could not do it without you.
With gratitude,
Lisa Carson
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